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Halloween Bar Science Lab theme

Set up a Halloween bar science lab theme. Check out these ideas and styling images to inspire your “spirits” of choice. You’ll love these display tips.

Setting up Halloween bar has so many possibilities. There are lots of ways to turn your “spirits” into ‘magic potions’, ‘poisons’, and ‘tonics’, and coming up with puns and creative names is half the fun!

Last year, with the final season of Breaking Bad running, I had the idea to set up a science lab themed bar, but ran out of time to actually put it together, photograph it, and blog about it before Halloween. This year I was determined to put those supplies I bought to good use, so I put this bar together with a little help from Command brand party products.

I switched things up from my original plan and designed this “science lab” bar to be a bit more modern using the black and white striped fabric and the “bar” sign hung in a minimalist way. It’s interesting how only a few tweaks of certain elements can change a design into modern, or rustic, or whimsical, right! For instance, I could have set this bar up on burlap and used old rustic frames and it would have looked completely different. Likewise, I could have covered the table in black lace and used black ornate frames for a more Gothic look. The possibilities are endless…

Halloween Bar Science Lab Details

For this bar I decided it would be centered around a signature punch and a single liquor – vodka. Our friends love vodka so that’s what I went with, plus it’s just so versatile. The punch is a cranberry, OJ, lychee juice mixture that can be used as a mixer or on its own. For it, and the vodka, I used plain bottles to serve them, and added labels from the craft store.

You can mix up a variety of cocktails using vodka as a base, and here I have tomato juice, apple liqueur, pineapple juice, olive juice, and blue curacao. This allows guests to mix up a dirty martini, a bloody Mary, or a some sweeter drinks. These mixers are served from an array of science lab vessels {a boiling flask, a large beaker, a graduated cylinder, and a volumetric flask} . For one, I even added a syringe so it can be filled and squirted into the drink, just for fun!

Also, a Halloween party bar wouldn’t be complete without a round of shooters and a grouping of test tubes is a great way to present those set in a wire rack.

Drinks can be garnished with olives, onions, and lychee fruit stuffed with grapes, aka ‘worm warts’, ‘slugs’, and ‘monster eyeballs.’

Small flasks are used as glasses to drink from, while small round dipping plates mimic the look of petri dishes. The “petri dishes” hold “mold” in the form of blue cheese and spinach dip.

Tiny beakers are used to hold “brain specimens” aka pasta salad, and small cocktail forks are tucked inside.

To round out the table I added a few decorative touches and themed cocktail napkins.

Backdrop Details

No party table is finished until an appropriate backdrop is in place. I knew I wanted to incorporate a bar sign that used the periodic table of elements somehow. And what’s more clever than using the symbols to spell out the word “bar”! Using “B” for boron and “Ar” for argon, I printed out some simple sheets that were hung using the Mini Spring Clips. I think it looks very modern and sleek. I often use Command hooks to hang lightweight items, but their new party line is especially suited for all the things we party people do! What’s more is you can use them over and over again, and they won’t damage your walls.

To add just a little more interest to the area I also hung a mini bunting made of washi tape and bakers twine. The Banner Anchors were perfect for this and I love how they’re clear so they’re unobtrusive to the eye.

Command Party products can be found in the party aisle at your local Walmart.

So, what do you think? Are you hosting an adult Halloween party this year, where you’ll need to set up a bar? If so I hope you can use some of these ideas, and don’t forget to PIN them for later too!

This post was sponsored by Command Brand party products, a brand which I’ve used for years. Thanks for supporting the brands that help make this blog possible. Learn more about how I work with brands here.

I use 3M Command products ALL THE TIME in party styling and they are in my Event Planning Toolkit I take on all my events! It was just a matter of time before they created a line dedicated to party decor! BRAVO! And you used them brilliantly Chris!

Stomach certainly a little woozy from some of those details there, Chris, but that just means you did a really fabulous job with your theme. 🙂 I personally couldn’t do an event without command strips, either! They’re a godsend!

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The most important thing about parties & entertaining is the guest list! Next, it should be delicious, beautiful, unique, and fun. Calling on my years of experience, I’ll show you how to pull it all together with style. Cheers!

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Meet Chris

Chris Nease is a party stylist and home entertaining expert with over 15 years of experience. In addition to her work as founding editor of Celebrations At Home, Chris is an editorial stylist and has contributed to Homes.com, SheKnows, and countless other websites. Most recently she was featured in Celebrate magazine, and her work has been published in Woman's World, Ocala Style, Yum Food & Fun for Kids, and Cottages & Bungalows.